In the class of elongate objects, rope is probably the oldest. Though the beginning of rope making has been lost in prehistory, there is evidence that rope was being made as far back as 17,000 BC. From early Egyptian history, we have been able to learn about how the earliest rope was made. We can surmise that because the process of rope making was quite tedious, once it had been made, the rope would have been stored for reuse. We can only assume, however, that any means of storage was very simple. It is likely that the first form of storing a rope in a more or less organized manner was to simply coil it into a series of loops and then to hang the coil on a suitable object, such as a tree branch. By the time mankind had moved into permanent abodes, he would have taken his ropes indoors with him and hung the coils on pegs attached to a wall.
In relatively more recent times with the advent of electrical cords, storage has become a more serious consideration, but most electrical cords are still stored by coiling them and hanging them on pegs, if not simply throwing them into a box or a pile on a floor. Whether rope or electrical cords, not much has changed in the manner of storage, regardless of the value or sophistication of the object being stored. The situation remains that coiled objects are generally free to uncoil and become tangled during transport or storage.
Elongate objects such as ropes and electrical cords are still most commonly coiled by hand and stored loosely or hung over a peg. Sometimes a strap or tie is wrapped around the coiled object to keep it from uncoiling or otherwise coming loose. In his 1974 U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,304, Blais described one of many types of collars or sleeves that have been devised to hold coiled objects. U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,932 issued to Palmer in 1996 was for a variety of helical spring segments, which could be wrapped around coiled electrical cords in various manners to prevent them from becoming uncoiled whether in storage or in use.
Manufacturers of cords for telephones and small appliances often attempt to reduce the storage problem by shortening the cord when it is not in use. Such cords may be preformed into tight spring-like coils along their length or may use a retracting spring inside the cord to shorten it when not in use. Peterson's 1987 U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,987 shows a spring operated take-up reel that is connected at mid-length of a flat telephone cord so that the reel winds the opposite end portions of the cord into a single spool. This method works well for thin flat cords or tapes, but becomes problematic for heavier items. Larger, bulkier items may be stored by rolling them onto a spool for retention. Cable reels with collector rings and retracting springs designed for storage of cables and cords have also been used for tubing and hoses. As Palmer ('932) said in 1996, it is apparent “that no effort has been placed on retaining of electrical cord or cable after it has been wound into a coil.”
Another common form of storage has been to wind the elongate object into a hank. One method that prevents unwinding is what is known as the “clothesline hank” in which one end of the elongate object is wound about the midportion of the hank in a spiral fashion and then that end is tucked through the loops at one end of the hank to secure them from unraveling.
In the prior art we find devices ranging from simple cardboard sleeves used for shipping, and pegs used for hanging during storage, to some of the more elaborate devices mentioned above. Though a simple peg works well for storage on a wall, it does nothing to avoid tangles when the coil is removed from the peg. The present invention solves both problems since the described holder may be removed from its storage location to be used as a carrier for transport of the coiled object. The described cord holder locks the cord tighter into a smaller coil and is more durable than many items in the prior art. Several embodiments of the present invention achieve simplicity of design with the ability to inexpensively manufacture them as single piece items.